Waking up in Midgar
by Timothy.C
Summary: After going back for Kuja, Zidane wakes up in Midgar of all places.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh my god! I'm not writing a Alvin and the Chipmunks Fic? Odd, I know. This is a late late late late late late late etc etc Christmas present for a good buddy of mine. I hope he likes it. And there is more to come!**

A horrible stench assaulted Zidane's nose as he began to stir from his sleep. He opened his eyes a saw what he thought to be the night sky. "Where am I?", he asked himself aloud.

The youth looked about and examined his surroundings. He found himself in what appeared to be a large city. Zidane put a gloved hand on his head. He had just noticed that he had a splitting headache. He looked back up at the "sky" and found that it was in fact not not the sky at all, but a large metal surface with lights covering the bottom.

_Okay so far I know I'm in a city of some kind and it seems to be underground. But how did I get here? What happened to Kuja? _An image flashed before Zidane's eyes as his mind drifted back.

Large green vines swarmed in and moved towards Zidane and Kuja at high speeds. Zidane threw himself over Kuja and the vines closed in around them. Zidane closed his eyes at the last moment. After a few moments of not being crushed to death Zidane opened his eyes, "We're not dead?"

There was a bubble of purple light holding the vines back. Zidane looked down at Kuja who's eyes were open and glowing with the same purple light, "You don't have to share my fate. I have enough strength to get you out of here but, I don't know where you will go."

"What are you talking about?", Zidane could hear the vines increasing their pressure against the bubble of magic, which began to crack like glass in response.

"There is no time to explain. Zidane, I hope you find your way back to your comrades. The only thing left for me to say is goodbye and that I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused", the glow in Kuja's eyes intensified and a purple light began to surround Zidane.

"Kuja, what are you doing?", the light consumed Zidane and his vision faded to black.

_Kuja... Thank you. _Zidane stood up and dusted his clothes off. He looked around once again and began to try and decipher where in the world he was. As he looked around it became apparent that he was in a back ally of sorts. He saw the exit ahead of him, "Well that looks like as good a place as any to start."

Zidane left the ally to find himself in what he hoped were the slums of this city. There were many strangely dressed people walking about and tending to business such as shopping. Zidane decided to ask someone where he was. He tapped a passing man on the shoulder, "Excuse me, where am I?"

The man looked over Zidane's cloths and took note of his tail and raised an eyebrow, "A long way from home by my guess", the man walked away from Zidane quickly, as if he was covered in sores. _What was his issue? _

Zidane tried to ask a few more people but he only got strange looks. He was starting to get frustrated, "Where the hell am I?', he shouted to the heavens.

"You look lost", a tough yet kind female voice came from behind the young man.

His turned on his heal and his eyes met with the owner of the voice. She stood just about his height, just a little taller. She had long dark brown, almost black, hair that fell just below her waist with the tip tied into a shape that resemble a fin of some sort. The first thing that stood out to Zidane was the size of her, "assets" as Zidane called them. She was dressed in a white tank top and black miniskirt with red suspenders and red shoes on. She also wore red leather gloves and black fabric that went up both of her forearms, with a metal elbow guard on her left arm.

"I am", Zidane forced himself to look at her red eyes. "Can you tell me where I am?"

The young woman nodded, "You're in the sector seven slums of Midgar. By the way my name is Tifa Lockhart."

Zidane extend his had out to her, "Nice to meet you Tifa, my name is Zidane Tribal."

Tifa took his hand and shook it. Once the friendly gesture was done with Zidane let out a groan, "Were the hell on Gaia is Midgar?"

Tifa raised an eyebrow, "Gaia? You mean the planet? Well it's in the center of the Center Continent."

"Center Continent? What?", Zidane reached into the pouch that hung from his belt and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. He opened the paper and looked at it, "Can you show me on this map?" He turned the paper over to Tifa who took it and looked over it.

She shook her head, "This isn't a map of the world."

"What? What do you mean?", Zidane's headache was getting worse the more he tried to figure out what was going on.

"I mean, wherever this is a map of, it's not the planet we're on right now", Tifa rolled up the parchment and handed it back to Zidane. who placed it in his pouch.

"Damn it. Kuja, where did you send me?", Zidane asked the air, not truly expecting an answer.

"You look like you could use a drink, why don't you come back to my bar and tell me whats going on?", Tifa gave Zidane a warm smile.

Even if he wanted to, there was no way Zidane could pass up and offer like that from a girl like Tifa, "Lead the way."

A few hours and a few drinks later and Zidane and Tifa were sitting at the bar in a small hole in the wall place called Seventh Haven.

"That's when I was surrounded by the light and then I woke up here", Zidane shrugged while he took a sip of his drink.

Tifa nodded, "Well I've come to a conclusion. Either you're insane or you're telling the truth and you've been through hell and back, only to wind up here."

"Trust me, it's the second one", Zidane's tail flicked back and forth with annoyance.

"So, what are you going to do now?", Tifa took a sip of her water and looked at the youth in front of her.

He shrugged, "I have no idea. I would like to get back to my world but I have no idea how to make that happen."

Tifa nodded, "Well do you have anywhere to stay for the time being?"

Zidane shook his head, "Nope.", Zidane drank the last of his beverage.

Tifa put a finger on her chin as she thought about something, "I have an idea. I can let you stay here if you're willing to work in the bar for me. How does that sound?"

Zidane thought about it and shrugged, "Well it will pass the time while I try to figure a way home." A smirk spread across Zidane's face, _That and I don't mind spending more time with you. _

"What are you smirking at?", Tifa looked at the tailed youth, trying to figure him out.

"Nothing, just thinking about how lucky I was to be found by you", Zidane gave Tifa one of his famous "lady's man" smiles.


	2. Chapter 2

It has been a week since Zidane arrived in Midgar. Tifa had tried to convince him to get new clothes so he would fit in better but Zidane insisted that everyone in the city dressed badly, except Tifa of course. He had met Tifa's friend Barret. He reminded Zidane of Steiner only less cultured, so naturally he and Zidane got along well. Barret had a daughter who lived here with them, she was a cute little thing, the only thing Zidane had against her was she liked to tug on his tail.

Zidane had spent the past week looking for a way home, that and hitting of Tifa. So far both had been fruitless efforts. He felt a little bad hitting on a girl that wasn't Dagger but the two of them had never been exclusive, at least not in his eyes.

The closet thing to hope Zidane had found to finding a way home was the small orbs everyone called materia. They held a power that reminded Zidane of the magic Vivi, Dagger and Eiko used, except everyone could use them.

Zidane tossed a green orb up and down while he sat on the bed Tifa was letting him use. This one held the power to heal. "Maybe if I find one that holds the power to teleport I can use it to get home...", Zidane had also picked up the habit of talking to himself.

Zidane hopped off the bed and made his way to the dining room/ bar where he found Tifa tending to some dishes. "Tifa, can I ask you something?"

Tifa turned off the water and turned to face Zidane, "What's up?"

He gripped the orb in his hand, "Can you tell me more about materia?" Zidane took a seat at the other side of the bar.

Tifa nodded and leaned on the bar, "Not much is known about them, other than the Shinra company makes the ones that are mass produced. Natural materia is far more powerful but also very rare. Why do you ask?"

With the way Tifa had been leaning on the bar it was very hard for Zidane to pay attention to what she was saying but he had managed to keep his focus on her words. "I'm thinking that it might be my way home. And that natural stuff might be the ticket."

"Ya but you're not going to find any here in Midgar, well unless you were lucky and found some in one of the mako reactors. But getting that deep into one would be a suicide mission", Tifa stood up and began to wipe out some glasses while she and Zidane talked.

"How so?", the term "suicide mission" did nothing to deter him, if anything it made that option seem all the more enticing.

"Well for starters Shinra isn't the nicest bunch of people around. Second getting that close to the Lifestream could be dangerous especially if you fall in", Tifa didn't like how Zidane's face seemed to brighten up the more dangerous this got.

"Lifestreem?", Zidane had a sly smile on his face. What ever this Lifestreem was it sounded powerful.

Tifa let out a sigh, "It's the river of energy that flows under the world. It's were we get our power."

Zidane nodded, "Well then its settled. I'll break in to one of those reactor things, find some materia and bam, I'm home!"

Tifa shook her head, "You don't think things through, do you?"

He nodded, "I do. You just saw me do it."

"Do you even know where to find a mako reactor? Or even what they looks like?", Tifa was hoping to convince him not to go through with his stupid idea.

"No..."

Tifa let out a breath of relief.

"But you do, and you can show me!", Zidane had a huge grin.

The brunette put her head in her hand and shook it, "Now you're dragging me into this?"

"You don't have to go in with me. Just show me where it is", Zidane's tone told Tifa that his mind was more then made up.

Tifa walked around the bar and stood next to him, "There's no way to convince you not to do this, is there?"

Zidane shook his head.

She let out a sigh, "Fine, but once we get there you're on your own."

Zidane hopped up from his seat and hugged Tifa. He wrapped his tail around her midsection and it rubbed against her exposed stomach causing her to giggle, "Watch that thing!", Tifa said between giggles.

He pulled his tail back and released his grip on her, "Sorry, Tifa. Thank you for helping!"

Tifa was about to respond but was interrupted by a man kicking in the door to the empty bar. He was armed with a gun and was dressed in simple clothes and wore a mask to cover his face. "This is a hold up! Give me all the gil!"

Zidane put himself between Tifa and the man. He drew his twin daggers from his belt, "Stand back Tifa!"

Zidane was about to run at the man but a beer glass flew across the room from behind him and bounced of the mans head. As the man began to fall back Tifa ran across the room at a blinding speed and delivered a flurry of punches and kicks to the man, knocking him out of the bar.

Zidane stood in awe as Tifa ran through the open door to continue her assault on the man. He quickly ran after to see if she needed any help. When he exited the bar he found Tifa holding the man in the air by his shirt.

"You thought you were just going to waltz in and get an easy score, did you? Well you picked the wrong bar!", Tifa threw the man to the ground and kicked his gun away from him.

The man scrambled away from her and managed to get to his feet. He ran for his life and never looked back. As soon as he was out of ear shot Tifa's face softened and she began to laugh, "Did you see the look on his face? I think I scared him half to death! I wasn't even hitting him that hard."

Zidane found himself speechless.

She turned to him, "Did you see that?"

Zidane nodded, "That was amazing. You can fight!" _I think she might be tougher then Freya..._

"Of course I can. What, did you think I got this body doing dishes?", Tifa rolled her eyes at the dumbfounded young man.

He shook his head, "No but I just didn't think you were such a... a... badass!"

Tifa blushed a little, "Thank you, Zidane. I don't think anyone has ever called me a badass before."

"Well, more people should!", he smiled warmly at her.

"Stop it, you're making me blush!", Tifa picked up the gun and snapped it over her knee before walking back into the bar.

She frowned at the broken door, "That's going to be costly to get fixed..."

Zidane spoke under his breath, "And to think I thought you might slow me down..."

Tifa turned to him and frowned, "I heard that!"

Zidane put his hands on the back of his neck nervously, "Sorry..." _Damn it!_


	3. Chapter 3

Once again Zidane found himself sitting on his bed. He was waiting for Barret to come back from what ever it was he was doing so he could help them plan the brake in. Zidane let out a groan and jumped off of the bed in a huff, "This is boring! I'm going to go bug Tifa."

Zidane made his way to the bar and found Tifa sitting at the bar reading a book. He approached her, "Tifa, what do you say you show me around the town?"

Tifa put her book down and looked at him, "Are you that bored? You're asking me for a tour of the city?"

Zidane had a giant grin while he nodded rapidly.

Tifa let out a sigh. She hated to admit it but he was cute and funny and skilled... Tifa made herself stop listing his good qualities, "Alright, let's go."

"Yes!", Zidane pumped his fist in victory.

As soon as they stepped out of the bar Zidane pointed up at the plate that was blocking out any view of the sky, "What's up with that thing?"

Tifa shook her head, "It's all part of Shinra's plan to keep the common folk separate from the "upper class". They use it to keep us in check."

"What's above it?"

"The rest of sector seven. The part that's not the slums", Tifa looked at the plate with disgust.

Zidane let out a whistle, "These Shinra folks don't seem all that keen on equality."

A dark thought crossed Zidane's mind, "What's keeping that thing up there?"

Tifa pointed to a large stone pillar that ran from the ground to the plate.

He shook his head, "That doesn't seem like much..."

"It's not and they like it that way. They could easily blow it up at any moment and claim it was an accident", Tifa shook her head.

"That's a load of bull if you ask me", Zidane looked at the plate and shook his fist at it.

Tifa nodded, "Well let's get going, there's a lot to see."

The pair walked all throughout the sector seven slums with Tifa showing Zidane all the worth while sites, there weren't many.

They came to a small playground that marked the entrance to sector six. The park was deserted. There were a few things for kids to play on but the one that stood out was a large pink slide that was shaped like a large blob of some kind. Zidane ran over to it and with a simple jump he landed on top of it, "Tifa, let's take a break. Come sit with me!" He sat down and patted the area next to him.

Tifa smiled and jumped up next to him and took a seat.

"This place seems to stand out. It's kind of nice here." Zidane looked up and enjoyed the fact that there was no plate above his head. It was night time but it was still refreshing to see the sky.

"Ya, Shinra never finished the plate here. They never said why but awhile back there was some kind of commotion here that left most of the slums in ruins." Tifa leaned back and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Tifa can I ask you a personal question?", Zidane's tail flicked back and forth with nervousness.

"Shoot", Tifa looked at Zidane and gave him her full attention.

"Is there anyone who catches your fancy?", Zidane waited on baited breath.

Tifa shook her head, "There was a guy a long time ago when I was a kid but I haven't seen him in years. He left our home town to become a "Soldier" and I never heard from him again", Tifa got a sly smile, "What about you?"

Zidane was caught off guard, "Eh... Well there was a girl back in my land, but we never went anywhere. I don't think she was ready."

Tifa sat up, "How about now?"

Zidane blushed, "No fair! It's my turn to ask one."

Tifa giggled at his indigent reaction, "Alright, fair is fair."

Zidane put a finger to his chin and thought, "Alright, do you believe in love?"

Tifa nodded, "Who doesn't?" She sat up, "Now answer my question."

"Well... There might be but...", Zidane was choosing his next words carefully. _Do I tell her?, _he asked himself. _Well you know what they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. _

"But I'm not sure if she feels the same way", Zidane waited for Tifa's response.

"Really? Anyone I know?", She watched his face hoping for an answer.

"You'll have to wait your turn to find out", Zidane smiled when he saw the disappointed look on Tifa's face. _So she's not entirely immune to my charms after all..., _Zidane felt like he had a bit of control again.

It was Zidane's turn again and he was going to make it a good one, "Tell me Tifa, how bad are you crushing on me?"

He frowned when Tifa kept a straight face and showed no signs of being take aback by his question.

"That's easy, not as much as you are on me", Tifa stuck her tongue out at Zidane to tease him.

Zidane turned his back on Tifa. He had to regain control of this conversation, "What do you mean?" His tail betrayed his calm facade by flicking back and forth. It quickly brushed under Tifa's nose causing her to sneeze.

Tifa grabbed it, "Watch this thing!"

A smile spread across Zidane's face as an idea popped in to his head, "Sorry about that. It has a mind of it's own sometimes..."

Tifa let go of his tail and he quickly brought it across her midriff causing her to erupt in laughter. She made another grab at it, but Zidane moved it too fast and continued his attack.

She manged to grab it and she tugged on it causing Zidane to fall back onto her, resulting in them both tumbling to the dirt ground below.

"That brings a whole new meaning to "falling for you"", Zidane covered his mouth once he realized what he said.

Tifa propped herself up on her right elbow so she was facing him while they both laid on the ground, "I knew it!"

They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before the both began to laugh. Zidane sat up and crossed his legs underneath him so he was facing Tifa. The laughter died down and they looked into each others eyes.

Zidane leaned towards Tifa and gently brushed a stray brown hair behind her ear. He moved closer until their faces were just inches apart.

"Zidane...", Tifa's voice came out as a whisper.

Zidane shook his head, "Shhh."

He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. Tifa returned this kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

"Alright, listen up monkey boy! Our contacts inside Shinra have told us that there are a few pieces of natural materia forming in a couple of the reactors. From what they've told me it looks like reactor one and reactor three are the best bet for one that will send you home. Reports have been saying things are just vanishing from those reactors, so the materia might be to blame", Barret finished the first portion of the briefing.

Zidane nodded while he held Tifa close, " Any word on the chance of it working out like its suppose to?"

"The hell do I look like? Some kind of wizard? You ask another stupid ass question like that and I'm gonna tie you up with your own damn tail!", Barret ranted and gestured with his gun arm.

Tifa giggled and whispered into Zidane's ear, "Don't listen to him. He's just a giant softy on the inside."

Zidane laughed and Barret shot him a look and pointed his gun arm at him, "I'm a great shot, so stop trying my damn patients!"

Zidane held up his arms in front of him and waved them for mercy.

"That's what I thought! Now here's the second part of info for ya. It's going to be about a week until the time is right to strike and get you in. That's when security is going to be lax at the reactors so they can add extra goons for some event to do with President Shinra's brat. You're going to be going in alone but we will show you the way that should get you in unnoticed", Barret unrolled a map across the table in the small secret area that was under the bar.

Zidane nodded, "Alright! That sounds like a plan. Anything else I should know?"

Barret gave Zidane a stern look, "Ya, this is a stupid idea. You going in alone? You could get outnumbered very easily and let me tell you something Shinra don't mess around. If they catch you they will kill you without a second thought. So you better be ready to do what you have to do to stay alive."

Zidane hated to admit it but he was feeling slightly scared, "Alright Barret, thank you."

Barret waved his non gun hand, "Don't mention monkey boy. Any friend of Tifa's, is a friend of mine."

Zidane put out his hand to Barret for him to shake. Barret accepted the gesture and returned it.

Tifa and Zidane made their way out of the secret basement via the elevator hidden in the pinball machine. They reached the ground floor and took a seat at the bar.

Zidane had a deep conflict running through him. He cared about Dagger but at the same time he cared for Tifa as well. There was no guarantee that he would get home but he had Tifa right now.

"What's on your mind, Zidane?", Tifa could tell something was bugging Zidane by the look on his face.

The tailed youth shook his head, "Nothing, Tifa. Just thinking about my options, that's all."

Tifa nodded, "Zidane, You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"

Zidane put his hand of Tifa's shoulder, "Of course I do."

****Later that week the night before the brake in****

Zidane and Tifa sat in the sector six park, on top of the pink slide. Zidane sat behind Tifa with his arms wrapped around her and held her close.

Zidane leaned close to Tifa and kissed her neck. Tifa in turn grabbed his hand and held it tight. Zidane pulled back and let out a sigh. Tifa leaned her head back onto his shoulder, "What's the matter?"

Zidane hated talking about how he was feeling but since it concerned Tifa he felt compelled to, "I'm conflicted."

Tifa nuzzled his neck, "About what?"

Zidane let out a deep sigh, "I don't know if I should try to get home tomorrow."

Tifa sat up and turned around so she was facing the young man, "What do you mean?"

"It's just... I might not be able to even get home. And I might have found a new home here... with you."

Tifa shook her head, "Zidane, you don't belong here. Or with me. What we have is fun and heart warming but I don't feel like you're meant to be with me or I with you."

Zidane raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

Tifa put her hand over her heart, "I don't know... I just feels like I'm going to find someone soon. And that you have someone waiting for you, with all of her heart."

Zidane's thought drifted to an image of Dagger standing on a balcony in Alexandria, "How do you know that?"

Tifa shrugged and turned her back to Zidane before lying back against him, "That doesn't mean we can't enjoy this while it lasts though."

Zidane wrapped his arms around her again and nodded, "Tifa, do you think if this world was my home we would be together forever?"

Tifa nodded, "I think we could work. But only if that creepy tail isn't genetic", Tifa loved to tease Zidane about his tail.

Zidane smirked, "Oh so you don't like my tail huh? Well it likes you!" Zidane pulled Tifa's arms up by her wrists and flicked his tail across her armpits.

"Zidane... I'm going... To kill you!", she manged between fits of laughter.

Tifa pulled her hand away from Zidane and playfully elbowed him in the gut, "What is you're obsession with tickling me?"

Zidane took a moment to answer because even though Tifa only used a little of her strength it still knocked the wind out of him. He shrugged before responding, "I don't know I just feel compelled to. It's almost like some outside force is telling me to."

They gazed up at the stars for a while just enjoying each others company.

Zidane broke the comfortable silence, "Tifa, I'm going to miss you."

Tifa nodded and nuzzled his chest, "I'll miss you too, Zidane."


	5. Chapter 5

The putrid smell that constantly hung in the air of the Midgar slums filled the room as Zidane began to stir from his sleep. He still had yet to get used to the smell of pollution and decay. The young man ran his gloved hand through the birds nest he called his hair.

Zidane quickly remembered what day it was and he suddenly became overcome by a mix of emotions. He was excited that he would probably returning home today, but at the same time there was a pit in his stomach when he thought about leaving Tifa.

The tailed youth hopped off of his bed and did a few stretches to get ready for the day. As he finished with his routine there was a light knock on his door. "Who is it?", he called to the unseen visitor.

"It's Tifa, may I come in?", her soft voice was muffled as it filtered through the wooden door.

A smile spread across Zidane's face. He loved her voice it was soft and caring yet at the same time there was always a tone of control and strength to it. "Of course" he rolled his shoulder and heard a loud and satisfying pop as the brunette entered the room.

She closed the door behind her before crossing the room and gently sitting on the bed. The young woman tucked a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear before speaking, "So Zidane, are you excited?"

The blonde shrugged and made his to the bed and took a seat next to Tifa. He loved her smell, it was a subtle mix of sweet alcohol and clean air. Zidane had no idea how she could have the sent of clean air on her living here, but he wasn't about to question it.

Tifa gently put an arm around Zidane's shoulder and smiled warmly at him, "What's the matter?"

The youth let out a sigh, "I don't know... I'm just still not positive that this is what I should do." He leaned his head on Tifa's soft shoulder.

She put her head on top of his and nuzzled it with her cheek to comfort him, "Well you should be. You know deep down that it's the way things are meant to be."

Zidane nodded reluctantly, "I know but I'm just scared. What if the teleport works and I end up in some other world that's not mine? Or what if time passes differently here and whats been a month here has been years there?"

Tifa quickly repositioned herself so she was facing him and had her hands on Zidane's shoulders, "Stop it Zidane! You're looking at all the possible negative outcomes. What if you get back to you're world and not a single moment has passed? Or what if it takes you right to her and you don't have to waste a moment looking for her?"

His blonde hair bounced as he nodded in agreement, "You're right, Tifa." A devious smile danced across Zidane's lips, "Maybe I'll land on Rusty and scare the crap out of him!"

A smile spread across Tifa's face. She loved seeing him happy, which he was most of the time, "That's the spirit!"

"So what's the game plan?", Zidane had once again regained his over the top attitude, he showed this by clapping his hands for effect as soon as he finished his sentence.

With a short glance at the clock Tifa nodded, "Well first we're going to get you some breakfast and then we'll go over the plan with Barret one last time. And then once nightfall comes you move out."

Zidane nodded and as if in response to the word breakfast his stomach grumbled. He put his hand on the back of his neck and gently rubbed it nervously. He let out a small chuckle, "So, how about that food?"

After Barret's last briefing Zidane and Tifa had made there way to the top layer of Midgar and were now on a train to Sector three where Zidane would infiltrate the reactor and hopefully find his way home. The train rattled as it sped down the track, it was an unsettling sound as if the train would either tear apart at any moment or simply fly off the tracks.

"So this is the main source of transport for you?", Zidane asked, trying to focus on anything but the task ahead. It wasn't the getting into the building part that worried him. Even after the talk he and Tifa had about not worrying about it he still couldn't keep his mind off it.

"Here in Midgar yes, but outside it's usually a buggy or chocobo", Tifa could see Zidane was worried but played along to try and calm his nerves.

"Chocobo? You have chocobos here too?", Zidane shuddered slightly when he remembered all the hours he had spent riding a chocobo and directing it to dig for treasure.

Tifa nodded, "You have them in your world as well? Maybe our worlds aren't so different after all."

Zidane nodded, "So, any idea how I'm going to use the materia to get home?" He had been thinking about this too. He knew how to use normal materia now, Tifa had taught him, but he wondered if the natural stuff was different.

Tifa put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment, "Well if it's anything like the mass produced materia then I would guess you need to think about what you want it to do. I would say picture where you want to go and put you hand on it. We can only hope that works."

The pit in Zidane's stomach grew as he pictured himself falling from the skies of Gaia and plummeting towards Lindblum, unable to do anything but wait for his inevitable meeting with the ground. Zidane shuddered and Tifa wrapped her arm around him, "What's the matter?"

Zidane loved the warm feeling of her skin against his. He shook his head, "Nothing, I just got a mental image that was unpleasant."

Tifa pulled him close, "Don't worry, you'll be back home in time for dinner tonight!" She couldn't help but notice that he still held the same smell of mist that had been about him from when she first met him. It was an odd smell, damp and almost gloomy but there was something else that was up lifting about it. She couldn't put her finger on it though.

Zidane regained his composure and smiled, "You're right! Won't the guys be surprised when they see me pop up in the middle of the hideout." Zidane's mind flashed with images of all of his friends. Blank and the rest to the troop. Vivi, Steiner, Freya, Eiko and even Amarant and Quina, although he still found s/he a little creepy. But most of all Dagger. He knew that she was waiting for him and that she would wait for him forever if she had too, and he couldn't let her down.

The train shuddered as it began to slow down. "Our stop is coming up, Zidane." Tifa's heart was heavy as the time to say goodbye drew closer.

The tailed youth nodded and reached into the small sack that hung from his belt. He pulled a piece of paper from it and opened it. It was a map of the reactor that Barret had given him. He reviewed it once again. The path that Barret had marked for him looked simple enough, he had even pointed out where the guards would be stationed.

A horrible grinding noise came from the brakes, which were long overdue for a replacement, as the train pulled to a stop and the doors slid open.

Zidane and Tifa stood up from there seats and exited the old train. Zidane had to admit that the air on the plates was far cleaner then that of the slums. The pair made there way across the platform weaving their way through the crowd that was always gathered. Everyone was in a hurry, it reminded Zidane of Lindblum during the hunting festival. There was a deep ache inside Zidane when he thought of his home.

It wasn't long until the two had left the platform and were walking through the streets of the sector three plate. The buildings here were in far better condition and even seemed to be maintained and cleaned on a regular basis.

"It makes me sick." Tifa's fist clenched while she spoke. "They live up here in luxury and don't do anything to help those that live in the slums!" A deep frown occupied Tifa's lips.

Zidane put an arm around Tifa's waist and pulled her close, "Don't worry. If there's one thing that all humans have in common, it's that they don't stand for oppression for very long. Sooner or later someone will stand up against them and remind them that the poor and beaten down outnumber them ten to one, at least!" Zidane was proud of himself, he came up with that speech on the fly and it sounded damn good.

The frown had disappeared from Tifa's face ans was quickly replaced with a smile, "I know Zidane, and were already working on it. Barret is going to be meeting with a mercenary tonight. The guy told Barret that he's and ex-solder and will work with us to take down Shinra. For a price of course."

"That's the way! Just make sure not to get yourself hurt, Tifa. If something happened to you I would have to find my back here and kick everyone's asses!" Zidane shadow boxed for a few seconds to emphasis his point.

Tifa laughed at his display, "Don't worry Zidane, the front line is no place for me. There would have to be someone I would die for out there to make me get out there."

There journey had come to an end and they were now standing below the reactor. Zidane pulled out his map again and looked it over. He looked up and noticed the hatch Barret mentioned that would get him in. He turned to Tifa, "I'm not good with goodbyes..."

She shook her head, "Neither am I. So how about we don't say it and instead I just wish you good luck?"

Zidane nodded and smiled solemnly, "That sounds better. Tifa... I'm going to miss you. You took me in, a strange guy with a tail. You helped me in every way you could and all without a selfish thought."

Tifa quickly grabbed a hold of Zidane and pulled him into a deep kiss. Zidane wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss with passion. As Tifa broke the kiss she ran her hand through the tangled mess of blonde hair on his head. "Good luck, Zidane. I hope you find what your heart seeks. One last thing", Tifa reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small green orb and tossed it to Zidane.

He looked at it with a raised eyebrow, "What's this?"

"It contains the power of fire. I thought it might come in handy in there." Tifa put her hand on Zidane's shoulder, "Now get going, your window of opportunity is a small one!"

He nodded again and tucked the orb into his bag. With a single leap he caught onto the cat walk that was about seven feet above them. He looped his tail around the hand rail and hung freely for a second. He waved to Tifa one last time before pulling himself up and heading for the hatch.

****Tifa's epilog****

Tifa watched as Zidane disappeared into the hatch. It was in his hands now. She began her walk back to the train platform with a heavy heart. She did love him and was going to miss him deeply. The walk back seemed to take forever with out someone to talk to.

The platform was packed again when she arrived. People were moving all about, some on their way home from work, others just finding something to occupy their time with.

When the train back to sector seven arrived a chill went up Tifa's spine. "What was that about?", Tifa asked herself. She entered the train and found a seat. As she was about to sit down something caught her eye. There was a man in a purple solder's uniform with a rather large sword on his back.

Tifa couldn't help herself, she had to make a comment about it, "What, are you hunting swamp snakes with that thing?"

The man turned around and Tifa's eyes went wide when she saw his face, "Cloud?"

****Zidane****

The hatch closed behind Zidane and he once again checked his map. It a short walk until he would be in the main part of the reactor. A smile played at the edges of his lips. Now that the moment for action had come he was no longer nervous, but rather excited.

He tucked the map back into his bag and ran full speed ahead down the small maintenance hallway. When he entered the main portion of the reactor Zidane was met with a ominous green glow from below. The only way Zidane could think to describe the smell was life. Pure, clean life. But at the same time it was tainted with oil and rust.

Zidane took in the view of the reactor and found himself on a catwalk high above what he assumed was the Lifestream. Around the edges of the pool of green liquid there was a small walkway that ran the entire rim of the building. Zidane spotted a large green crystal that had formed, "That must be it!"

He assessed the room and realized he would have to slowly make his way down to be safe. There were very few guards patrolling the walkways, they were each armed with a rifle that Zidane was sure would not feel nice to get shot by.

The youth made his way along the catwalk, being careful to keep the metallic ping of his boots landing on the grate beneath him to a minimum. He managed to get down a few walkways without being noticed but luck was not on his side today.

"Freeze!", A guard called as he ran towards Zidane.

"Crap! Well taking the slow way down is out of the question!", Zidane climbed up onto the thin hand rail. He gauged the distance between him and the wall and took a deep breath. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

Zidane leapt from his perch and drew his daggers. He carefully turned his body mid jump so that his was facing away from the wall. His daggers scraped against the wall in an attempt to slow his rapid decent.

It wasn't long before all of the solders in the reactor were aware of his presence and began to fire at him. Luckily they seemed to be bad shots, with most of the shots hitting the wall to the side of Zidane and simply bouncing away harmlessly.

The walkway at the bottom got closer and Zidane let out the breath he had been holding since he jumped, "Almost there..."

There was just one problem, a few guards had gathered were he would be landing and were waiting for him. "Damn it! Wait... I've got it!" He sheathed one of his daggers and reached into his pouch the hung from his belt. He pulled out a small green orb the had an aura of heat about it. He held the orb towards the landing spot as it got ever closer. "Fire!", he called out and a burst of flame flew from the orb at the guards.

The wave of fire landed on them and knocked them down. Zidane smiled as he tucked the orb away, "They're going to feel that tomorrow."

When Zidane landed he tucked into a ball and rolled as to avoid injury. He stood up and drew his other dagger again. With a quick look around he once again located the large materia. Zidane thought to himself as he ran, "Don't worry Dagger, I'll be there soon!"

The gun fire continued as he ran forcing him to doge and weave around the bullets. "There it is!"

The materia was just a few feet away now when suddenly a guard that looked to be a higher rank then the others descended from above via a wire. He landed and pointed his rather large gun at Zidane, "Don't move! This stops now!" At his words the others stopped shooting.

The genome stopped mid stride and froze. He held his daggers at the ready, "Look, I don't want to hurt you man, but I will."

There were a tense few seconds as the two faced off. Zidane could hear other guards making there way to the standoff. "If I don't do something fast I'm going to be outnumbered...", Zidane's internal voice was even sounding discouraged.

With a deep breath Zidane bolted at the man. In a flash there was a gun shot and Zidane was standing on the other side of the captain. The next few seconds were intense as neither dared to move. Finally the officer fell over and a small amount of blood spurted out of his side, "Don't worry, you'll live..."

Zidane took a step when he felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down at his mid section as a red stain was forming on his vest. Zidane quickly sheathed his daggers and placed his gloved hand over the wound. "Damn it! I'm not going out like this!"

The sound of the guards foot steps was getting closer and closer. Zidane began to limp towards his only hope of salvation. The whole left side of his abdomen was starting to burn with pain.

"Just a few more steeps...", blackness began to creep in on the sides of Zidane's vision...

The injured youth reached his hand out towards the materia, " Lindblum... Lindblum... Lindblum... Lindblum", Zidane repeated to himself as he got closer.

**** Lindblum****

Eiko was out on one of her walks though the theater district. Ever since she was adopted by the reagent and his wife she had begun taking a daily walk to the Tantalus Theater Troupe's base of operations. It had been a month since he had gone back for Kuja and she refused to believe that Zidane was gone. She was sure one day she would walk into the hideout and see him smiling at her while playing cards with his friends.

She reached the old wooden door that lead into the building. She no longer knocked as she was now on a first name basis with the whole troupe.

When she entered the old dusty building she found Blank was the only one in right now. He sat at the damaged table that rested in the middle of the room. His head was leaned back and he appeared to be asleep.

Eiko snuck up next to him, "BLANK!", she shouted.

The red haired youth let out a yelp as he fell out of his chair. Eiko giggled as he stood and rubbed his injured backside, "Not cool, Eiko..." Though Blank couldn't keep from smiling, he enjoyed her visits. She reminded him of his lost friend.

"Any sign of him yet?", Eiko had asked this question many times over the past month, it was a reflex now more then anything.

His red hair swung back and forth as Blank shook his head.

Eiko let out a disappointed sigh when suddenly there was a bright flash of light and a large green crystal appeared above Eiko.

"Look out!", Blank shouted and jumped forward to pull her out of the way as the rock imbedded itself into the floor. "What the hell was that?"

There was another flash and Zidane landed with a crash though the old table, shattering it into splinters.

"Zidane!", Blank and Eiko yelled in unison. They both rushed to his side and gasped when they saw the small pool of blood that was forming under him.

"Stand back!", Eiko began to glow with a bright aura, "Curaga!"

A green light bathed Zidane and he began to stir awake. His side was no longer in pain, though he was still exhausted. He smiled weekly at his friends, "I'm back..."


End file.
